Good work, good reputation, and positive press go far in the hot rodding industry; they’re the key components that can make you or break you, and make your shop a household name or an unknown. It can also land you some incredible opportunities to build award-winning cars that push the boundaries of style and performance. All it takes is getting the right call from a guy ready to think big.

That’s how Mike and Jim Ring, the Ringbrothers, met Gary Bauers. After picking a ’07 Shelby, Gary was looking for a shop to add some custom flair to it. He liked the car and loved the performance, but it was lacking panache. He really didn’t know exactly what he wanted, but he was positive that it needed to be something unique and beyond the typical mods that every late-model Mustang sports. It needed to stay muscular, but also go upscale with styling and interior appointments.

2/21The Ringbrothers always pack power under the hood of their creations, but this 740hp Keith Craft-built Windsor is perhaps the most radical. It easily turned the tires into pavement puddles at MCOTY.

Unsure of where to go, Gary began browsing the Internet, hoping to run across photos of customized Mustangs that struck him, when he ran across the Ringbrothers work. Reactor, Kona, Dragon, Copperback, and Bailout—it was easy to see that these guys knew how to make the most of a Mustang’s lines.

Typically Jim and Mike don’t take on late-model projects very often, as they usually don’t allow them to exercise the creativity they’re know for, but Gary was fully prepared to let them have their way with the GT500, so they accepted. Long story short, Gary shipped the Shelby straight from the dealership to the Ringbrothers shop and Jim and Mike almost completely disassembled the car and rebuilt it as a Ringbrothers-spec GT500. Gary was exceptionally pleased with the results and still enjoys the car to this day. But that was just the warm-up.

3/21

Several months down the line, Jim and Mike got another call from Gary. This time he wanted them to build a vintage Mustang for him to the same level as their previous showstoppers that convinced him to call in the first place. Once again though, Gary threw the ball in their court for the design aspect; he wanted them to have free absolute reign. And he was game to push the limits of what had been previously attempted.

Sensing an opportunity to go after a concept they’d been rolling around for a while, Mike and Jim Ring proposed a radical idea: Let’s make it wider. You see, they’d always thought that the early Mustangs looked a bit too thin, so why not widen the whole car by a few inches? Gary loved the idea and told them to go for it. Problem was, Jim and Mike weren’t quite sure exactly how to do it yet.

4/21

The knee-jerk reaction is to slice the fastback straight down the middle and add inches to the whole car. But after considering the logistics of doing so, especially when it came to retaining the graceful shape and proportions of the fastback roofline—not to mention the wide custom glass that would be needed and massive amounts of chassis and interior work—the idea was looking less brilliant. On top of that, it would mean that they wouldn’t be able to use the carbon-fiber roof panel that they had already developed for their previous fastback project known as Bailout (PHR, Mar. ’11). So, that idea was scrapped.

The concept, however, was not. There had to be a way to give it the girth they wanted without ruining the style that made the Mustang an instant classic. While staring at it thoughtfully one day, the lightbulb flickered on: The stock body lines might actually hold the key to subtly adding inches. Mike and Jim duct-taped extra quarters, fenders, and doorskins onto the Mustang, but shifted them 2 inches outward, and then spray bombed the whole thing black to get a visual estimate. The effect was exactly what they were looking for; 4 more inches that looked completely natural. And why not? Ford did call early Mustang fastbacks 2+2s after all!

Of course, making the plan and executing it are two totally different things. To actually make the Mustang 2 inches wider per side required so much more than tacking on sheetmetal. Just think about everything behind the panels that needs to be stretched as well, like wheelwells and the inner structure of the door. The hardest part of all? Preventing the nose and tail from looking stretched, especially on the front end, where according to Jim they were careful to avoid creating a wide-mouth effect by focusing on the headlight buckets alone and retaining the original ’65 Mustang grille.

14/21

The final effect is fabulous though, and absolutely our favorite widebody treatment we’ve seen on a ’64-66 Mustang. Mike and Jim feel the same, and Jim says he doubts there will ever be another early Mustang built by the Ringbrothers shop that isn’t widened. He’s totally serious about that. Every custom wide piece on The Producer has been captured in molds. Wider doors, quarters, fenders, endcaps, headlight buckets, front and rear valences, hood, bumpers, and trunk lid will all be available in carbon fiber and fiberglass. All you need is a rusty fastback and a little sheetmetal work to widen the rocker panels, and you can squeeze 315 and 345 series tires under the front and rear sheetmetal of your Mustang.

It’s not just us who were blown away by The Producer’s innovative styling. The judges at Goodguys Columbus were mesmerized as well and awarded it with the coveted Street Machine of the Year award amid stiff competition. That’s a great feather in their cap, but Mike and Jim took it a step further when they stepped up to accept our offer to attend first annual PHR Muscle Car of the Year (MCOTY) competition. With Gary’s blessing, the Rings arrived with The Producer set on kill, determined to drive it to the limits of their ability. Now that’s street cred: Build a showstopper that overshadows the trailer queens, then proceed to drive it like the high-performance g-Machine it portends to be. Now that’s our style.

The Producer was exceptional on all fronts at MCOTY with only a severe traction issue on the dragstrip hurting their final score, but high trap speeds told the tale. It is hard to hook an ultralight carbon-fiber and fiberglass fastback with 740 hp on tap. On the high-speed SCCA-designed autocross course, those wide meats on all four corners kept them near the top of the pack. For a fresh build with no track tuning, The Producer was amazingly effective.

15/21It’s not an overlay; the roof really is made of carbon fiber. If you’re prepared to make the cut, you can buy it from the Ringbrothers.

In the end, that’s the reputation the Ringbrothers really want to get out there; they build show winners that aren’t one-trick ponies. In our opinion, The Producer is their best effort so far at a car that really does score high on all fronts. Mike and Jim say, though, this is just the beginning. They’ve got even more radical ideas brewing. So who’s going to step up and make the phone call that unleashes their next creation? Is it you?

“With Gary’s blessing, the Rings arrived with The Producer set on kill, determined to drive it to the limits of their ability.”

“Gary threw the ball in their court for the design aspect; he wanted them to have free absolute reign.”

“Sensing an opportunity to go after a concept they’d been rolling around for a while, Mike and Jim Ring proposed a radical idea: Let’s make it wider.”